1940s: I supported my wife and sister-in-law by hunting.

Aunt Wang smiled and patted her son's head. "My Qiangzi is so smart, he learns in no time. Okay, go to sleep now."

She immediately grabbed Qiangzi as soon as she finished speaking. "No, you can't stay indoors for a while, you know? Your wife is carrying your baby."

She was afraid her son was foolish and might do something reckless that would harm the baby in her womb. "Sleep with Mom, Qiangzi."

"No, no, no, I want to sleep with my wife in my arms."

Unable to persuade Sha Qiangzi otherwise, Aunt Wang Er had no choice but to quietly instruct Qiu Yanzi.

Qiangzi is like a child, he doesn't understand things deeply, so you have to be patient. Only after getting Qiu Yanzi's assurance can you let silly Qiangzi go back to his room to sleep.

···

Ever since Qiu Yanzi found out she was pregnant, Aunt Wang's attitude towards Qiu Yanzi and her two adopted granddaughters softened considerably.

He stopped cursing them for being good-for-nothings and freeloading, and he became much more restrained in his speech, no longer swearing or cursing.

Once the pregnancy was stable and three months had passed, Aunt Wang couldn't contain her joy and kept telling everyone she met.

"My Qiuyanzi is pregnant! I'll be a wet nurse soon! Our Wang family will finally have an heir! I'll see who dares to gossip and laugh at my Qiangzi for not being smart enough! He's got all the skills for managing a household and getting things done! He's very shrewd."

Even the words that Sha Qiangzi used to say all the time have changed.

He used to just mutter that he was strong and obedient, so his mother would find him a wife.

I talk about it every day now.

My mother said that if I work hard and behave well, my wife will give me a big, healthy son.

By this time, the crops in the fields had been almost completely harvested, and the swallows, never idle, went down to the fields every day to pick up the corn that had fallen into the furrows.

By the end of the day, you can easily fill a basket.

The children from every household in the village were also busy, with Da Ya Dan and Xiao Xiao Zi all running to the fields.

After the fields are harvested, there will always be some leftover grain. Picking it up can supplement the family income. Farmers are reluctant to waste even a single grain.

That day, Qiu Yanzi was carrying a basket of corn cobs home when she bumped into Chen Gaoshan, who was returning from chopping firewood on the mountain. The two met face to face.

Chen Gaoshan already knew about Qiu Yanzi's pregnancy from Sha Qiangzi.

He looked at Qiu Yanzi's little belly and asked in a low voice.

"She's pregnant?"

Qiu Yanzi didn't intend to hide it from him.

My husband is a bit dim-witted. Although he's strong, he's impotent and can't handle anything. Even if his mother, the silly Qiangzi, gave him some folk remedies and he ate some dog braids, his pants would be erect in the blink of an eye.

She doesn't even let people into her house when visiting relatives; who knows better than her?

"Yes, yours."

Chen Gaoshan nodded. "If you're pregnant, have the baby and raise it well."

That night, under the cover of darkness, when no one was watching, Chen Gaoshan sneaked to Qiu Yanzi's door and quietly delivered five cans of meat and a wild rabbit to her, specifically to help her recover.

On the other hand, he didn't neglect Chuncao either, and he certainly took good care of her as well.

As usual, they delivered 20 jin of cornmeal on time, along with an extra 5 jin of rice and three cans of meat.

He has a lot of canned food in his storage space, so he doesn't feel bad about taking it out.

····

With the winter approaching again, the village has a new crystal radio at home. Although the volume is low, it has brought a lot of joy to the family.

The heavy snow outside has been falling for two days and two nights without any end in sight.

The rooftops, the yards, and the tops of the walls were covered with a thick layer of white snow, so white it was dazzling.

The next morning, Chen Gaoshan got up early to sweep the snow off the roof. If he didn't clean it up, the thick snow would weigh down the roof and cause it to collapse!

The yard had been left unswept overnight, and the snow was ankle-deep, almost up to the calves. Every step you took created a snow crater.

In our village, it's always like this once winter arrives: heavy winds and snow. It's the same every year, and the villagers have long been used to it and have gotten used to it.

Today, the sky finally cleared up, and the sun broke through the clouds to show its face.

Looking around the entire village, every household, from the old men to the young boys, was squatting in their courtyards, shoveling and sweeping snow with shovels and brooms in hand.

This is also the best time for hunters to go into the mountains.

In the cold winter when it snows, wild animals grow their thickest fur and are covered in thick fat, making their hides valuable and their meat plump.

Back home, Lianhua has started producing milk, but the amount is only so-so, nowhere near as plentiful as Xinghua's.

It looks good, but it's actually useless and not very useful. It just benefits his father during the day.

Da Mao usually drinks his aunt's milk during the day. He just finished feeding Er Mao and burped. He is now lying on the scorching hot kang (heated brick bed).

The kang (heated brick bed) was warm and cozy, making the children's little faces rosy. The two little rascals' hands were still clasped together, their round eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling. I don't know if they could see anything clearly, but they looked so adorable.

Chen Gaoshan sat cross-legged on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), looking down at his two little daughters, finding them more and more endearing.

He smacked his lips.

"You know what, our two little girls are really good at growing up. Their skin is so fair and tender, and they only take the best features from me and your mother. A few days ago, they had single eyelids, but these past two days, they've quietly turned into double eyelids, big double eyelids, and they're getting prettier and prettier."

Xinghua was holding a rabbit skin, intending to sew a close-fitting vest for Chen Gaoshan to protect his chest and back, so that he could be protected from the cold wind when he went into the mountains to chop firewood and hunt in winter.

Listening to his vain ramblings, she rolled her eyes at him, her eyes crinkling with a smile.

"Children's eyes and eyebrows develop gradually. Some are born with double eyelids, while others develop them over time. Lianhua was the same way when she was little; her eyelids only started to turn into double eyelids after she was 100 days old."

Chen Gaoshan bent down and kissed each of his two daughters on the cheek.

As a result, when he bent over, a sour, foul smell rushed straight to his head, making him want to vomit.

I've always heard people say that babies' poop in the maternity ward doesn't smell bad, but that's just a bunch of lies!

The excrement from those two little brats of his is sour, smelly, and has a pungent odor that can make people feel nauseous.

The diapers used by the two children are made from scraps of soft fabric cut from old sweaters worn by adults in the family. They are soft and do not irritate the skin.

For more than a month, Chen Gaoshan hadn't washed his diaper once; his mother and aunt had taken care of everything.

All he could do was go up the mountain to chop more firewood, collect more firewood, and boil more water.

Hot water is always available for the women to wash their hands and take care of them during their postpartum period, so that they don't have to touch cold water in the dead of winter and have their hands frozen.

But he really couldn't stand the smell of the child's poop.

Even after sleeping with it for over a month, smelling it every day and getting used to it, I still feel nauseous and vomit. It's really strange and doesn't tolerate people at all.

He quickly straightened up.

"Alright, stop looking, Da Mao's definitely had diarrhea again! Quickly get a clean ring to change into, the smell is too strong!"